KISUKANO’S PROUD RACE RECORD: PART 2

By Graham Potter | Sunday, October 31, 2021

In her first three runs as a three-year-old Kisikano simply carried on from where she had left off as a two-year-old.

She won the first two starts of her three-year-old campaign. The first of those successes came in a QTIS Three-Year-Old Fillies Handicap over 1200m at Eagle farm on August 15, 2020, with Alex Petis, who was claiming 3kg off the set weight of 62kg, guiding her to a solid 3.25 length victory

Two weeks later Kisukano was at it again. This time, reunited with Mark Du Plessis, she scored a very comfortable 1.25 length victory in a Three-Year-Old Plate over 1200m on August 29, 2020 … again at Eagle Farm.

She had now won six times from eight starts.

Kisukano’s last run in his first prep as a three-year-old saw her finish second, beaten by the narrowest of margins by Epic Girl in the featured Pink Ribbon Cup over 1300m at the Gold Coast on September 19, 2020 … 1300m being the furthest she had stretched out in distance to date.

Kisukano was then spelled. She returned to race action three months after her start in the Pink Ribbon Cup and stepped straight into Listed company, tackling the $200 000 Nudgee Stakes over 1200m at Eagle Farm on January 2, 2021, a race in which, for the first time in her career, she failed to finish in the placings. (The race was won by the James Cummings trained Athiri).

The second up run, on February 27, 2021 saw Kisukano come back in distance to 1000m for the first time since her second career start back in February 2020, when she lined up for a Jewel Prelude Three-Year-Old Handicap at the Sunshine Coast.

Here, Kisukano finished fourth, only 1.70 lengths behind the smart Rex Lipp trained runner Simply Fly who was winning for the fourth consecutive time on that occasion.

These two runners would clash again in their next run, the QTIS Jewel for three-year-olds over 1200m at the Gold Coast on March 13, 2021 where Kisukano failed to fire, finishing well out of the placings as Simply Fly extended his winning sequence to five straight victories.

Fair to say, it was tougher going for Kisukano this time around but, like any good horse, Kisukano duly bounced back after the disappointment of The Jewel, running a gallant second to another Rex Lipp trained horse, Tycoon Evie in a $125 000 Three-Year-Old Quality Handicap over 1200m at Eagle Farm on April 3, 2021.

Again, Kisukano had bumped into a Rex Lipp horse in a hot spot of form as this was Tycoon Evie’s third win in a row.

It was time for Kisukano to test the waters in feature race company again and she did that in two successive races which, while they did not produce a win, Kisukano’s two efforts in these very competitive contests just underlined her well above average capability.

The first of those two runs came in the Listed Mick Dittman Plate over 1110m at Doomben on April 24, 2021 … and, while unplaced, there was certainly nothing wrong with Kisukano’s effort to finish within 3.50 lengths of the Mark Newnham trained winner Lord Olympus.

The follow-up run, in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas over 1200m on May 8, 2021 with Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michael Rodd in the saddle, was superb. This time Kisukano beat both Lord Olympus and Simply Fly home, but still had to settle for a proud third placing behind the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Marboosha and Tramonto, finishing just over a length behind the winner.

Kisukano then made good on the promise she had shown, particularly in that Gold Coast Guineas run, by coming out and winning at Doomben over 1100m on May 22, 20021 in the Darby McCarthy under the guidance of Kerrin McEvoy.

Underlining the merit of the win was the fact that she beat Tramonto, who had finished ahead of her in the Guineas, by a comfortable 1.25 lengths on this occasion.

Box ticked.

Kisukano’s last start as a three-year-old resulted in a fifth place finish in the Listed Queensland Day Stakes over 1200m at Eagle Farm on June 5, 2021.

Fifth place, yes, but she finished only 0.50 lengths behind the winner meaning she was still racing right up to a serious level of performance until her last competitive stride as a three-year-old.

Kisukano ended her two and three-year-old campaigns with a proud record of seven wins, three second places and two third places from seventeen starts with prize-money totalling in excess of $800 000.

You would have to say that with credentials like that, there has to some sense of keen anticipation at Kisukano’s return to racing but, whatever happens next, Kisukano, under great management from trainer Michael Nolan, has done the stable proud.

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